Apparatus of the type embodying the invention has been used in the past for providing infrared heating of buildings in which animals are housed and which must be kept warm. Generally, the installation has included a plurality of individual heaters which are electrically connected to a single control box which itself is coupled to the building wiring. This arrangement has been generally satisfactory; however, care had to be taken to be certain that the electrical wiring was carried out correctly and, in general, had to be performed by a licensed electrician. In addition, the cost of the control apparatus was too great to be used with an installation including only a single heating element. The present invention provides an inexpensive current controller integral with the heating element and a black body infrared sensing device coupled thereto. The simplicity of the structure permits individual heating units embodying the invention to be used for spot heating, both for animals and humans.